


Mad

by lowkeysalty



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2021-02-08 10:44:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21474715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lowkeysalty/pseuds/lowkeysalty
Summary: Brick leaves Sanctuary, this time of his own free will
Relationships: Brick & Lilith (Borderlands), Brick/Mordecai (Borderlands), mentioned Lilith/Ellie (Borderlands)
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

_"This ain't us, Lil! This ain't you!"_

Brick's own words echo in his head as he pulls his tattered duffel bag out from under his bed in the Crimson Raider headquarters. He tosses the bag onto the bed and opens his locker, hastily packing his belongings. He doesn’t bother to fold his clothes; he just balls up his garments and tosses them in the bag in a rage. His mind replays the scene of Lilith giving the firing squad the order to kill Athena. He remembers his conversation with Roland after he killed Shep Sanders. How Roland wouldn’t stand for it. How Roland was right. He knows if Roland were here, Lilith would be exiled too. But Roland isn’t here. Just Brick and his bag.

He’s almost done gathering his things when he hears the door squeak open. Familiar footsteps pad into the room followed by a familiar voice, "Hey Brick! Tina wants-- what are you doing?"

Brick shoots a cold glance at the door. It’s Mordecai standing there. Anxiety washes over Brick. His decision was such a snap judgment he forgot about Mordecai. He’s dead set on leaving but doesn’t know what to do about Mordecai. He remembers finally asking Mordecai to be his boyfriend after Jack’s death. They’ve been together for a few months and things are great. He’s torn between his love and his convictions.

Brick steps aside, his body no longer blocking Mordecai’s view of his duffel bag bursting at the seams. "What does it look like?" he asks.

Mordecai takes a few more steps forward, the implication of the bag on the bed sinks in. "You're not… Over Lilith giving the firing squad an order?"

"If Roland was here, that wouldn't have happened," Brick declares.

"Well he's not here. Lil's in charge now,” says Mordecai. He’s trying his best to gently diffuse the situation.

"Yeah? And who decided that?" Brick questions.

Mordecai hasn’t thought about it before. He pauses for a second before saying, "I guess. She did actually." 

"Right. Well if executin' Athena and everyone in her story is what to expect out of her leadership, I'm gone.”

Mordecai feels his heart drop into his stomach. He knows how stubborn Brick is once he’s made a decision. But this is a very sudden decision so Mordecai thinks he can change Brick’s mind. He starts to defend Lilith, "Can you blame her? She was mad about--"

Brick cuts him off sharply, "Trust me, Mordy. I know about mad."

"You of all people should understand her then," Mordecai says.

"I _understand_ that she didn't learn shit from Roland exiling me," Brick replies, feeling his anger bubbling up.

"This is. Different."

"How is this any different?"

Mordecai takes a deep breath. "Jack took Roland from us. That wouldn't have happened if Athena-"

Brick cuts him off again, "Oh and Jack wouldn't have destroyed New Haven if Shep Sanders hadn't sold us out? If it wasn't him, it would've been someone else. If it wasn't Athena, it would've been someone else."

Mordecai scrambles to finish his thought, "Athena was part of his whole rise to power. They're not comparable. Did you even listen to anything she said?"

"What _I_ heard was Athena regrets everything she did in his name. That would've been good enough for Roland so it's good enough for me,” Brick says. He folds his arms and his brow furrows. He thought Mordecai might see it his way. Apparently he’s wrong.

"What Roland would've thought doesn't matter now," Mordecai says calmly. He instantly regrets it.

"Like hell it doesn't!” Brick roars, throwing his arms up in exasperation. “Roland brought us all together. He _made_ the Raiders. Lilith will _never_ be half the leader he was if all she wants to do right now is revenge kill everyone who ever worked with Jack. I'm leavin'." 

Without another word, Brick takes the last of his clothes out of his locker and furiously shoves them in his duffel bag. He only bothers to zip it up halfway. He slings his luggage over his shoulder and picks up his prized possession, Sledge’s hammer. A tribute to the good old days, before any of the drama ripped the family apart. Brick makes for the door, shouldering past Mordecai. But he feels Mordecai’s slender fingers touch his scarred shoulder and he stops.

"Brick, wait. What does that mean for us?" Mordecai asks nervously.

Brick wishes he knew. He wants so badly for Mordecai to run away with him. But he can’t ask that of him. Someone has to stay behind and save Lilith from falling into a cycle of bad decisions. For a second he considers maybe that person could be him. But ultimately he decides, no, he doesn’t have the patience for that. He turns to face the scrawny man. His large hand moves to cup his boyfriend’s cheek. "I love you, Mordy. But I can't stay here."

Under his goggles, Mordecai is about to cry. He doesn’t want Brick to go but deep down he knows Brick is right. He briefly considers packing his own bags, but he realizes Lilith is in an hour of need. He belongs here, for now at least. His brain grasps at straws to get Brick to stay, even if it’s just for a few hours. Maybe some extra time to think will change his mind. "Before you go. Can you at least spend some time with Tina? She's already lost Roland. I don't want her to lose you."

Brick lets the head of his hammer touch the ground. He does need to unwind a little bit and spending time with Tina was good for that. He agrees to it, "I guess. But I'm outta here by nightfall."

* * *

Brick spends the next couple of hours with Tina and Claptrap, listening to Athena tell her tale a second time. And then a third. The sun begins to set and that’s his cue. He tells Tina he has to leave for a while. She’s confused but Brick assures her he’ll see her again soon. He heads back to the headquarters to say his goodbyes to Mordecai. The men both fight back tears after Brick kisses Mordecai’s forehead and promptly leaves. He’s in Pierce Station, typing the coordinates to Thousand Cuts in the fast travel when he’s confronted with the one person he didn’t want to see.

“Where are you going?” Lilith’s voice comes from behind him.

“Anywhere but here,” he grunts in reply. 

“Is this about what happened earlier?” the siren asks.

Brick snorts. “What do you think?”

“Brick let me explain--”

Brick shuts her up, “Uh-unh. Nothing to explain, Lilith.” He turns around, a mix of anger and betrayal in his eyes. “You were gonna kill Athena. An unarmed prisoner. And for what?”

Lilith avoids eye contact, “She helped cause everything that happened with Jack. I know nothing could undo that but I got… mad.”

Brick’s voice grows sterner than Lilith has ever heard, “Lil. I know about mad. But when I killed the guy who sold us out to Jack, Roland kicked me out. And he was right. Roland was a leader. If you’re gonna act like that, what makes you think you could live up to him?”

Lilith is at a loss for words, “I--”

“That guardian saved you from a mistake. But you still made it. I hope whatever it told you was worth it,” Brick says. He turns back around and finishes entering his desired location into the fast travel.

In a last-ditch effort to get Brick to stay, Lilith tells him what the guardian said, “It just said there was a war coming. And that I’d have to make a choice.”

“Yeah, well keep your war. I’m out.”

Brick vanishes in the glow of the fast travel terminal’s light and doesn’t look back.


	2. Chapter 2

A couple of months later, the Slab King sits on his throne overlooking the warehouse. He hasn't spoken to any of the Crimson Raiders since he left, with the exception of Axton and Sal running a few errands for him. He didn't ask them how things were going in Sanctuary. He didn't need to. He's always tuned into their secure communications radio channel, partially to keep up with Lilith's soap opera of a regime and partially to make sure the people he cared about were okay. 

Brick gets up and paces the catwalk while his bandit clan members bash their heads together for fun. He's nervous. His Echo device has been emitting garbled nonsense most of the morning. The clearer words to come through aren't encouraging; "attack" and "under siege" being the most troubling. Brick decides he's tired of sitting on his hands. He pockets the Echo and removes his giant hammer from the chains that allow it to dangle from the ceiling and walks outside. What he sees when he looks to the sky is stranger than the Echo chatter. Sanctuary is covered in green stuff and Brick guesses it isn't paint. 

Static comes from his Echo device again before he hears Lilith's voice clearly say "Mordecai's hurt." Brick's heart drops. He frantically reaches for the device. More static and broken voices. He smacks the side of it in some desperate attempt to get a clearer signal. It works, Lilith's voice saying "Helios" before the line goes dead. The ruins of Helios aren't that far from Thousand Cuts. Brick takes off running for the nearest Catch-A-Ride. 

A short technical drive later, Brick is forced to abandon the truck and complete his journey on foot. He enters The Burrows via a side path, hoping he's not too late for a heroic rescue. He doesn't expect this to take long. How bad could a few bandit camps and decommissioned loader bots be? But what awaits him at the end of the path isn't bandits or bots. Brick gets smacked in the face by a vine with the same thickness as his arms. "The hell?" he asks himself. 

The path empties out into a cavern lined with plant life, and not the peaceful kind in his makeshift garden outside Slab HQ. More large vines violently sway, definitely sentient. Flowers overhead grow rapidly and when they burst, plant-psycho hybrids pop out and charge toward Brick. With a few swings of his hammer, he incapacitates them all. Confused and breathing heavy, he stands in the center of the open cavern, unsure which direction will take him to Helios. He decides to pick a path and pray. 

He knows he's picked the right path when Hyperion ammo crates litter the ground around him. He eventually finds makeshift structures made of mangled metal from the Helios wreckage. These structures have also succumbed to whatever plant plague was going around. As he's fighting more plant people, a group of familiar faces shows up. Maya, Gaige, and Krieg help him purge the area. They pause briefly when they think they're alone. 

"Boy are you a sight for sore eyes," Maya says. 

"I came out here 'cause I heard Mordy was in trouble. What the hell is going on?" Brick asks. 

"Well to make a long story short, Pandora has more plant life now and it's not the pretty flower kind," Gaige explains. 

"PUTRID SPORES MAKE HIS GUTS TINGLE!" Krieg shouts. 

"Yeah, Krieg is right. The spores they spit out will turn you into one of those plant psychos. That's what happened to Mordecai," Maya translates. 

"Is he okay? Where is he now?" asks Brick, concerned boyfriend coming out in full force. 

"He's fine, he just has some vines coming out of him," Gaige says. 

Brick's expression twists from concern to disgust. Maya elbows the mechromancer in the ribs and further explains, "We're holed up in a bandit camp south of here."

"You'll know you've made it when you see the repurposed Hyperion turrets and you hear a drugged up dude yelling 'BANDIT LIIIIIIFE!'" Gaige shouts. Brick nods, pretending to understand what Gaige's imitation means. 

The group's catch-up session doesn't last long; more human-plant hybrids creep up the hill toward them. Brick helps the second generation of vault hunters beat a path through the zombie-like bandits toward the Helios wreckage. Once they're safely inside, he heads in the opposite direction. 

* * *

At The Backburner, Brick and Lilith stand next to each other over a sleeping Mordecai. Lilith looks from Mordecai's bony body to Brick. Brick's arms are crossed and he refuses to take his eyes off the smaller man and the plant protruding from his side. 

Lilith takes a deep breath and speaks to Brick directly for the first time in months, "Brick I--"

Brick cuts her off, "I know you're sorry." 

"You still deserve to hear it. I'm sorry, Brick. For letting my emotions get the better of me. For not learning from you…" Lilith trails off before gesturing at Mordecai, "For letting this happen."

Brick shakes his head. "Whatever Lil. I'm just glad everyone's. Kind of okay." 

"I miss you Brick. So does Mordecai. He's been a wreck without you."

Brick's heart breaks. He didn't expect Mordecai to dwell on him. He never saw himself as worthy of Mordecai's time. He really thought Mordecai would've moved on in his absence. 

"It was a challenge, but he stayed sober," Lilith continues. "He needs someone like you around. No one else in Sanctuary makes him happy."

Brick considers this for a moment then says, "I ain't comin' back to the Raiders."

"Really? Still?"

"I don't care how you lead the team now. When I told you you could keep your war, I meant it. I don't want any part of it. I'm tired, Lil. Tired of chasing the next big bad guy. Tired of being mad."

They stand in silence briefly before Lilith gets a call from Maya. The group of vault hunters made it to the moonshot cannon and needed help. 

"I've gotta go. We'll have a remedy for this plant thing soon," she says, "Just. Don't leave until this is over."

"I ain't leaving Mordy again," Brick assures her before she phasewalks away. 

* * *

Brick stays true to his word. He's there when Mordecai wakes up. He's the one to administer the vaccine for the plant plague. He stands hand in hand with Mordecai as they watch Sanctuary and the tangle of vines engulfing it explode. Even after that's over and Lilith declares her daring plan to get off planet, he stays at the Backburner with Mordecai and Tina. He sends Zer0 on a mission to find rifle parts so he can put together a present for Mordecai, something perhaps a few days overdue. 

"What is this?" Mordecai asks when presented with the pink box. 

"You're a year sober! You really think I'd forget?" Brick tells him. 

Mordecai opens the gift box with a smile. He pulls out the rifle inside. "Whoa."

"Made it myself," Brick says proudly. "It pierces shields, just like the one you lost a couple years ago."

Mordecai studies Brick's handiwork in awe. They've known each other for years and Brick still manages to surprise him. He hoists the gun and aims at Claptrap in the distance. It feels great, like it's made for him. Probably because it is. "Brick I don't know what to say. I love it."

"And I love you," Brick replies. 

Mordecai gently lays the rifle on the table in front of them and looks up at Brick. "I love you too, but we gotta talk about the elephant in the room." Brick's face softens and his lips twist into a frown. "Lil says you're not coming back to the Raiders."

"I'm not," Brick says. 

"I want things between us to work but they can't if we're not on the same team," Mordecai tells him. 

"I was kinda hoping you'd join me."

"What?" Mordecai asks, confusion lining his face. 

"Aren't you tired, Mordy? We've been carryin' the weight of the world on our shoulders the last couple years. Lilith can keep playing superhero if she wants but I can't do it anymore," Brick explains. "We promised Tina we'd take her on an adventure off planet one day. Why not turn that into a new life?"

Mordecai considers it for a second. He looks in the direction of Moxxi's makeshift bar and sees Lilith and Ellie talking. Lilith's expression is worried but it washes away when Ellie kisses her on the cheek. Mordecai smiles. Lilith doesn't need him anymore, she's got someone else supporting her. He places his bony hand atop Brick's large one. "Sounds good to me, cariño."

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on twitter @streamdirtycar


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